Hello all! This week we have coverage of the r/Crafts Harry Potter ban and immersive romantasy experiences at SeaWorld, plus a podcast episode about the commercialization of fanfic, featuring Elizabeth! Also: Fansplaining articles about fandom statistics and Lanterns, along with SK8 Infinity fic recs from guest reccer Westie, some beautiful IWTV fanart, and more! — Gav

new stuff

“Craft Subreddit Bans Harry Potter Projects” by Nicole Carpenter at Aftermath
After a great deal of debate about whether Harry Potter works should be allowed on the r/Crafts subreddit, users voted on the question this week and elected to ban them going forward.

“SeaWorld Wants to Make You Horny” by EJ Dickson at WIRED
SeaWorld is taking an innovative approach to Halloween with a romantasy theme: “Horny millennial ACOTAR fans haven’t posed too much of a problem—in fact, quite the opposite.” (We are still unclear how this relates to sea creatures but Godspeed to all.)

“Is money ruining fan fiction?” at This Is Uncomfortable
Elizabeth was recently a guest on This Is Uncomfortable, a podcast from the public radio show Marketplace, to talk about what is clearly now her main beat: the monetization of fanfiction, and how everything is kind of depressing now.

The thing I like about the X-Men is that if you join it doesn’t matter if you were an assassin or raised in a murder cult or worshipped as a god, at some point they will make you try to teach geometry to a bunch of fifteen year olds.

— Max the comics guy who does comics about comics (@waitingforthetrade.bsky.social) September 19, 2026 at 8:52 PM

new stuff: fansplaining

“Crunching the Fandom Numbers” by Destination Toast
Destination Toast was Fansplaining’s most-frequent podcast guest, and they returned this week with a colorful-graph-filled deep dive into their history with fandom stats, including some very fun comparisons between AO3 data from when they started in 2013 versus today.

“Lanterns: The Murder of Hal Jordan” by Gav
Ten years after he rejected the Green Lantern ring, John returns to Rushville to investigate Hal’s death. Featuring a guest appearance from Nathan Fillion as Hal’s buffoonish replacement Guy Gardner, this episode doubles down on the show’s cynical view of the Green Lantern Corps.

This week Fansplaining also put out the September special podcast episode: the latest “Tropefest” installment, which is about secret identities! Superheroes, The Shop Around the Corner, fairytales, Cyrano, trans narratives, and much, much more.

I don’t get it, why doesn’t the coyote simply catch the roadrunner? Massive plot hole if you ask me.

— Dan Olson (@foldablehuman.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 11:18 AM

older stuff

“You Can’t Even Watch A Movie Anymore Without Seeing Some Theme Explored” at The Onion
“It’s getting so I can’t take my kid to the movies without having to cover her eyes so she isn’t exposed to the eternal struggle between good and evil or the universal need for human connection.”

tumblr & beyond

Interview with the Vampire fanart by ivyithink

environmental storytelling

Palpatine administration greenwashing allegations.

Batman’s ever-present gargoyle

“watching death note with my family and after the college entrance episode my mom asked offhandedly if anyone had ever pictured L and light as a couple before.”

fanfiction

Westie is your friendly neighbourhood unhinged fic consumer/fic writer. You can read whatever she churns out here!

I’ve been into the anime SK8 the Infinity for a few years now, and I’m always just in awe of how amazing the fics are. And so, I decided to compile a short list of some of my all-time favourites! There is absolutely no need to have watched it to understand them, although I do recommend it, since it’s (in my humble opinion), one of the best anime I have ever watched! — Westie

ADAM is getting married” by QueenPotatos. 3.9K words, rated Gen.
Ship: Kikuchi Tadashi/ Shindo Ainosuke | Adam
Backstory: Adam and Tadashi are dating. Adam is getting married. Tadashi is convinced he’s getting married to a woman. Shenanigans ensue.
Rec: This is one of my favourite lighter fics for SK8! There’s a bit of miscommunication (handled really well in my opinion), and the ending is chef’s kiss!
Content warnings: N/A

“History of Love” by crinklefries. 168K words, rated Explicit.
Ship: Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Backstory: Kaoru lets Kojiro get away once. Luckily, that’s not the end of their story. Slow Burn Matchablossom that starts at their first meeting in kindergarten, and follows them through their life.
Rec: Possibly my favourite slow burn of all time. You want to hug the characters just as much as you want to kick their ass. Amazing OC side characters, too!
Content warnings: N/A

“New Tricks ” by softcombat. 6.6K words, rated Teen.
Ship: Kikuchi Tadashi/Shindo Ainosuke | Adam
Backstory: To love, and let yourself be loved, is perhaps the greatest contentment there is. tadashi and ainosuke both finally get to learn that. Post-anime look into the healing of the relationship between Tadashi and Ainosuke.
Rec: One of my all-time favourite fics for any fandom. it gives an amazing look into the relationship of these two disaster-men, and how they’re both healing from their respective trauma.
Content warnings: Implied homophobia, internalized homophobia

“Cherry Magic!” by redmorningstar. 36K words, rated Explicit.
Ship: Kikuchi Tadashi/Shindo Ainosuke | Adam (background Cherry/Joe)
Backstory: Tadashi goes to sleep on the eve of his 30th birthday a virgin... and wakes up a wizard!? Now he can hear everyone's thoughts, including those of his boss Shindo Ainosuke… A Cherry Magic AU.
Rec: One of my favourite AUs! This author is very delightful (I have the pleasure of having talked to them online before), and they managed to both keep it true to Cherry Magic, while also keeping everything that makes SK8 SK8!
Content warnings: N/A

“you deserve love (welcome to the family)” by Bajillian. 1.2K words, rated Gen.
Ships: Kikuchi Tadashi/Shindo Ainosuke | AdamShindo Ainosuke | Adam & Everyone
Backstory: Adam is nervous about attending the post-beef party. A slight tweaking/ extension of the party shown at the end of episode 12, where the party is used as a way to welcome Adam to the little skater family.
Rec: As a major Adam-fan, this fic is an absolutely delightful treat! It’s super fun and cute, and gives this mess of a man a new set of friends that he deserves.
Content warnings: N/A

it's not libel, it's my headcanon

— Emma™ (@cockremover.bsky.social) October 3, 2025 at 1:41 PM

FINAL THOUGHT

October is nearly upon us, and as we’ve done in years past, we’re going to do at least a few weeks of ~seasonal recs. That includes:

• Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, and other supernatural creatures
• Horror and/or eerie vibes
• Halloween-specific stories (including fluffier ones!)

Please note that for all of these, this could mean canonical characters/worlds or AUs.

You can send in your favorites via our handy form, and please use the themes & tropes filed so I’ll know which of these elements/categories you’re submitting for. We’re also up for single-authored lists—if you want to share, say, your favorite vampire AUs, or your top five fics from your horror-oriented fandom, please get in touch! — Elizabeth